1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a system and method for exchanging and communicating automotive information. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for exchanging automotive information between at least two automotive trading partners conducting an automotive transaction.
2. Background Art
With the advent of the Internet, the automotive marketplace is seeking new ways to efficiently communicate information for automotive transactions. However, the automotive marketplace is currently comprised of a litany of disjointed communication systems and manual processes. Moreover, each market participant (i.e., trading partner) may communicate in their own proprietary schema and protocol. Although there are industry standard communication schemas in existence, very few trading partners utilize them. Two organizations that set such standard schemas are the Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) group and Automotive Manufacturers Dealer Systems Group (AMDSG). However, because very few trading partners in the automotive marketplace use either of these schemas, complicated and expensive information management issues are raised for trading partners who must be able to communicate with other trading partners. For example, if an automotive dealer wishes to process a new car purchase for a customer, the dealer may have to communicate information with the manufacturer, the department of motor vehicles, a financing provider and an insurance provider, all of who communicate in different schemas and protocols. This could not only require the dealer to obtain, utilize, and/or be familiar with separate proprietary communication terminals/applications for each trading partner, but could also require the dealer to perform multiple manual tasks. Not only is this costly, but it also creates inefficiencies as the dealer may be forced to, for example, input the same data (e.g., customer name, social security number, etc.) several times.
Therefore, there exists a need for a system and method that allows automotive trading partners to communicate and exchange information without having to communicate in the proprietary schema and protocol of other trading partners. In addition, there exists a need for a system and method that prevents each automotive trading partner from having to translate data schemas themselves. Moreover, there exists a need for such a system and method to have application in all areas of the automotive marketplace. For example, suitable applications might include, among others, automotive parts, automotive sales, automotive service, automotive insurance, automotive registration, automotive financing, automotive warranty, and credit reporting.